[106.04] Intracluster Stars in the Virgo Cluster

Deep HST F814W images of a field in the Virgo cluster
(41\prime from M87; within sub-clump A) have been
obtained as part of a study of the intracluster (IC) star
population. The luminosity function of the stellar objects
in the data reaches Ilim~27.5, showing an excess of
objects (above that of the background HDF-N and HDF-S
fields) with I>27, a feature we attribute to IC stars in
the Virgo cluster. We find more IC stars than found by
Ferguson et al. (1998) in a field located further from the
cluster core region. We will be comparing our results with
the observed number of previously discovered intracluster
planetary nebulae in both fields, and we will also present
preliminary results on the nature of the IC stars based on
the RGB tip location.

This research is supported by grants NAG5-9377 and
HST-GO-08337.01-A.

The author(s) of this abstract have provided an email address
for comments about the abstract:
pdurrell@astro.psu.edu